fascinated by your goodness
by HannahPelham
Summary: Dr Anthony Strallan is asked to perform monthly checkups on the children at Edith Crawley's Home for Children. He doesn't expect to fall head over heels for Miss Crawley herself.


"Now, I'm not going to deny that I was aware of your beauty. But the point is, this has nothing to do with your beauty. As I got to know you, I began to realise that beauty was the least of your qualities. I became fascinated by your goodness. I was drawn in by it. I didn't understand what was happening to me. And it was only when I began to feel actual, physical pain every time you left the room that it finally dawned on me: I was in love, for the first time in my life. I knew it was hopeless, but that didn't matter to me. And it's not that I want to have you. All I want is to deserve you. Tell me what to do. Show me how to behave. I'll do anything you say." - _Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos_

When Dr Anthony Strallan met Edith Crawley, he knew he was done for. The first time he'd visited 'Edith Crawley's Home for Children', he hadn't known what to expect. When he walked in, all he could hear was laughter and happy children. He immediately knew that the children were well looked after.

It had never been Anthony Strallan's aim to be a local GP. He'd wanted to be a heart surgeon or a brain surgeon or something more glamorous than a local GP like his father, and his father before him. He was on track for it, too, but the universe is a fickle thing. So there Anthony was. A local GP.

"Hello?" He called out into the house.

"Hello Dr Strallan! Do come in, we're through in the kitchen!" A female voice, presumably Edith, replied. Anthony walked through, past the stairs and piles of toys, into the kitchen. 3 children were sat around a pine table, finger painting whilst Edith sat on the work surface, drinking a cup of tea and supervising.

"Edith Crawley?" He asked, walking over to stand next to her.

"That's me!" She replied, looking at him quickly before looking back towards the children. Anthony took this moment to properly look at the young woman for the first time. She was slim, but not unhealthily so, with the most beautiful golden hair and dark brown eyes Anthony could ever remember seeing. He quickly turned his attention to the children at the table, not wanting to be caught staring at her.

"So who do we have here?" He asked, smiling as Edith jumped down from the work surface to get some more paper from a sideboard on the other side of the room.

"This is Sybbie" Edith said, gesturing to the biggest of the children.

"Hello, Miss Sybbie" Anthony said as he walked over to the end of the table, placing his bag down on a free spot.

"Then we have George" Edith continued, ruffling the hair of the only boy. Anthony smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you, Master George" He said quietly, not wanting to scare the seemingly shy boy.

"And finally we have Marigold" Edith finished, taking a seat near the smallest child.

"Hello, Miss Marigold" Anthony said, sitting down on the little girl's other side for a moment before Edith stood up and beckoned him over to the other side of the room. Anthony guessed she was going to explain why she'd asked for the children to have monthly checkups.

"I..I just want to make sure they're alright and healthy and developing properly. I should hate to think I was doing anything detrimental" She quickly explained, confirming Anthony's suspicions.

"Very wise" he replied, nodding. He walked over towards Sybbie, sitting down next to the girl and asking her a couple of questions, beginning his check up.

Edith leaned against the wall as she watched Dr Strallan interact with the children. She hadn't thought much of it when he'd first walked in, but now she was properly looking at him, she thought he was really rather attractive. Sure, his hair was receding ever so slightly and he had a few laugh lines, but he had a boyish charm and wicked smile that Edith thought was irresistible. She had wondered if she was being over-paranoid about the children, but she trusted Dr Strallan's judgement. If he thought it was a sensible idea for someone to check on the children once a month then check on them they shall. She realised she was still staring at Dr Strallan. She quickly looked out of the window at the dreary winter day, the dark clouds threatening rain and making it prematurely dark. She drained the last of her tea and walked over to the teapot, pouring herself another cup. She looked over at the doctor, still deep in conversation with Sybbie. He felt her gaze on him and looked up.

"Tea, Dr Strallan?" she asked.

"Please...and do call me Anthony" He replied, smiling at her before a tug on his sleeve took his attention back to the children, who had all joined in the conversation. Edith him poured him a cup and handed it to him, taking a seat opposite him. They shared a smile before their attention went back to the children. Edith distracted Sybbie and Marigold whilst Anthony talked to and checked over George, and then she did the same whilst Anthony checked over little Marigold.

The finger painting was cleared away, hands were washed, and soon the three children had run off in search of toys, leaving Edith and Anthony alone in the kitchen.

"The children are in fine health, Edith. You really have nothing to worry about" Anthony said, placing a reassuring hand on top of Edith's.

"I...well, I said why I want you to do this but I want to be sure" Edith replied, looking up at the doctor.

"I'll come and check on them next month, and the month after that, and the month after that, and for as long as you want me to come and check up on them. I might even keep an eye on you too" Anthony said softly, hoping to get his message across to the woman sat in front of him. Edith smiled up at him. Anthony smiled back.

Over the coming months, Anthony would visit on a saturday, checking up on the children before having a cup of tea or a slice of cake or eventually lunch with Edith. As they sat on a bench in the garden, on a particularly warm June day, Edith broke some news to him.

"The children are going away to the countryside for the summer" She said, quietly.

"They are?" Anthony replied, wondering if he'd heard her right. If the children were going away for the summer, he wouldn't see Edith until they returned.

"They are. London is no place for children in the summer, and they need some time away. So do I. I need five minutes to myself. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I need some time for me" She explained. Anthony smiled at her, sipping his glass of Pimm's (he was glad he'd walked there, so he could join Edith in a glass of the punch, which simply tasted of summer).

"Where will they go?"

"I know somebody who runs a similar establishment in Brighton. They'll go there for 2 months" Edith replied. They sat there in silence for a while, watching the birds as they ate seeds from the feeders and bathed in the bird bath. There was a question hanging over them.

"Anthon-"

"Edith, once the children have gone, would you like to go for dinner with me?" Anthony blurted out, glad that she'd broken the silence but he'd been able to get his question out first. He looked at her, worried.

"I'd love to, Anthony" she replied quickly, amazed that he'd been bold enough to ask her. She thought she was going to have to ask him if he took much longer. Anthony let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and smiled brightly at her. She smiled back at him, moving to sit ever so slightly closer to him.

Anthony paced in the hallway as he waited for Edith to finish getting ready. When he'd turned up 10 minutes before, her hair had still been up in a towel and her makeup was half done. When she appeared, Anthony couldn't remember ever seeing a more beautiful creature in all his life. His jaw dropped ever so slightly when she walked over to him.

"Do I look okay?" Edith asked.

"You look...incredible, my dear" Anthony replied, offering her his arm. She smiled and took it gladly, leading him out of the house.

Edith and Anthony stumbled through his front door, not wanting to break the contact between them. Anthony's hands soon found the zip on the back of her dress, pulling it down as her legs found their way around his waist, allowing him to carry her up the stairs with ease. He deposited her on the bed, breaking the kiss between them for only the second time since they had gotten into a taxi outside the restaurant. He breathed heavily as he looked down at the delicate woman lying in his bed. She looked back at him, marvelling at the man who had finally taken control.

"Anthony…" she whispered.

"Edith, I love you" Anthony said, matching her volume.

"I love you too" Edith replied, before joining their lips once more.


End file.
